Non conforming details
 

I see posts here about whether some gun is supposed to have this detail or that. While Parkers generally conform to given details for the grade and period of manufacture, there are always odd details. To many collectors, these oddities add interest and discussion .

For example, here is a 1910 CHE Bernard 16ga, not in any of the Parker records that the PGCA has access to, and with the pre 1898 grip cap ( non Parker logoed) and without either the 1905 or the 1910 bolt wear plate. Yet this gun is considered by knowledgeable collectors to be fully correct. So if I have any advice to give, it is to look carefully at non conforming details, but do not assume a gun is made up just because of those details.

Finally, I returned last night from taking a crew of Boy Scouts to the Minnesota Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness Area. A couple photos of that and bringing this wonderful and unique place to future generations. In wilderness, we find our own preservation.

Far from an expert but the permeations and combinations possible with all the changes made in the building of Parkers over the years would seem to make anything possible.

Hope you enjoyed your scout trip, I have fond memories of the canoe trips through the Adirondaks when I was a scoutmaster

Although our friend, Bruce, didn't ask, I have an easy solution to the mystery. First, maybe Bruce would post the mystery serial number.

great c grade, i have a 1904 dhe that came with 28in Damascus barrels. it was sent back to parker after 1910 and fitted with 30in titanic barrels 3in chambers and no wear plate, I always thought that was odd but different. I just love these old guns. one thing bothers me is all these great old guns with the screws out of time, come on guys its a easy fix and makes them look much better.

Bruce, beautiful gun, great scenery but how in the hell are you going to swim with those boots on????

John , that is one of our 6 foot, 180lb 12 year old little tykes. Many kids have only bulky athletic shoes. There are lots of rocks and I make them wear shoes of some type in the water.

All kidding aside Bruce, it is a great thing you support the scouts and devote your time to something we seem to be losing in our society. I remember when a scouting trip was talked about event and now we barely hear of them in my part of the country. My hats off to you for giving your time to introduce these kids to the outdoors.

PS..one of our 6 foot 180 pounders?

I could go on about how obesity among youth is a major epidemic, about dysfunctional families and drug and alcohol abuse, about kids who are already unstable because of unstable families.

At BSA summer camp with camp food, we have boys say that they get more to eat and better food than they get at home.

When we take them on high adventure trips, that may be the only occasion they have to experience something like that for the rest of their lives.

I've taken dads that are terrified of raccoons at night and have never camped out. They are afraid of the woods.

I've had boys whose mothers pick them up a Big Mac for a nightly dinner. They eat healthy for the first time, and talk about how they can hardly wait to get back so they can have a large soda and a large bag of potato chips.

I prefer 5-6 day trips into the wilderness because for some of these boys, it takes 2-3 days for the ill behavioral effects of bad diet to wear off. Lack of concentration, highs and lows, squabbling, much of it diet related.

In the BWCA, they hear wolves howling almost every night, catch 22" northerns and think they caught a monster, see moose , see eagles, portage canoes that they think are too heavy for them to lift ( 40lbs) and do not have violent video games and cell phones for a week.

I take along an old Shakespere fiberglass Wonder Rod which is pretty limber and bends a lot on a small fish so they think they have a large fish and can't break off. Last week I violated one of my own rules and left the forward treble hook on a lure. A kid and small pike embedded two hooks deeply in my hand .... one of the other adults had to cut one hook out, snip the hooks, and we were able to bend and pull the other straight out. After that I made sure to cut off the front hooks on all lures that were used.

I know we can't change lives as we would like, but we open doors, and maybe they retain something.

my hats off to you bruce for working with the youth... charlie

Well done Bruce!

I think I know the parents of all those fat kids.

I have a good friend who has owned a transmission repair shop since he got back from Viet Nam in 1972. I spend a fair bit of time there and I see the parents come in.

Grown men who have to ask another grown man to check their transmission fluid for them.

Grown men who stop in to ask if they can borrow a pair of pliers because their garden hose at home is on too tight. That's right, they don't own their own pair of pliers.

Grown men who come in to ask if their 22 year old son, who lives at home, can have a job. Where is the son? He's out in the Suburban but didn't want to get out because a song he liked was on the radio.

Grown men who don't own a single gun and who "don't like guns".

I could go on and on but you get the picture.

I know we could all go on and on but I see a problem with no military draft. We used to have men who at least would serve for 2 years and that short time gave them some pride, discipline and perhaps a sense of belonging to a group bigger than they were. It also made America a country where most people had some sense of firearms usage. Now only a small percentage of men join the service and those poor guys go into combat zones 4-5 times or more simply because there isn't anybody else to go. I am not forgetting about the women and I think the military would be great for many of them as well. We have young men simply going nowhere but playing computer games, drinking and using drugs in many areas. I know there are millions of young men and women who work hard, bring home a paycheck, put themselves through college and become great citizens. Unfortunately there just isn't enough of them when compared to the ones we are all paying for.

Dennis

We have too many who can't make it through basic even in the all volunteer force. Huffing paint, computer screen cleaner, failure to comprehend or follow instructions, continual mouthing off, petty theft, inability to get out of bed, minor injury malingering, all washes them out of BMT.

The military is neither equipped or funded to transform society as it previously was. Those funds have now gone to social welfare funding as political patronage.

FYI, a friend was commander of a unit that does USAF basic electronics training as a first step for various advanced skills. Electronics is a difficult program to enter and takes a fairly high aptitude score. He booted out two trainees last year because the first sergeant caught them huffing gold paint in their dorm room, with gold paint on their faces and floor. Two days after giving them an Art 15 non judicial punishment, he was in the exchange and saw them buying quantities of computer screen cleaner, so he asked the NCO to pay them another visit. He did and found them goofy huffing the stuff with it over their faces and in paper bags. So they were given general discharges and booted from an expensive program with virtually unlimited prospects for career USAF advancement or civilian jobs. Can't fix stupid.


The majority of our BSA young people are outstanding, high achievers. And I'm riding next week with the Air Force team on RAGBRAI. Extremely talented people. I'll post photos.

I cannot disagree with anything said on this thread on some of today’s youth, or parents for that matter, but I do think that we still have plenty of dam fine young folks and parents in this country of ours. They do not “stick out” like the others do, but they are there, IMO.

Computer screen cleaner???:eek: What ever happened to sneaking a "Stoneys or Hams" out of the old mans fridge out in the garage. Good God man... And yes sir there are some upstanding young men and women in this country.
PS. Does anyone remember moving the cans around so the old man wouldn't notice there was one missing :whistle:

In response to a suggestion of universal military service, here are some figures from the AF fact sheet, which are true for all services:

The propensity for a youth 18-24 to serve in the military is 12%, 17% male and 6% female. The propensity has been declining over the last decade.

73% of American youth 18-24 are not qualified for military service. Disqualifiers include poor aptitude scores, record of drug and alcohol abuse, significant criminal records, obesity, lack of ability to pass initial physical condition testing, and medical exam failures.

Unfortunately, we Viet Nam era veterans are not the parents of the problem children of today. We are the grandparents. We did not always do our best to instill our values in our children. My kids were headed for school and female, so it never occurred to me to recommend military service. My one son was a good candidate, but lived full time with his mother and I did not exercise enough control. Unfortunately, we are screwed on the school and college system which is run by career liberals. The latest is that Janet Napolitano will now run the California University system, guaranteeing a new crop of thousands of Communist leaning graduates.